PAPERBACKS

PAPERBACKS; 1939: THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN PAPERBACK

By RAY WALTERS

Published: April 30, 1989

''OUT TODAY - THE NEW POCKET BOOKS THAT MAY REVOLUTIONIZE NEW YORK'S READING HABITS.'' The advertisement announced Pocket Books' intention ''to open up new frontiers of literature . . . by distributing low-priced books.'' The 4 1/2-inch-by-6 1/2-inch volumes, bound in brightly colored paper covers, cost 25 cents and were sold at drugstores and newsstands as well as bookstores and department stores.

The first 10 titles reflected several years of marketing research. Three were the bases of successful movies: Emily Bronte's ''Wuthering Heights,'' Thorne Smith's ''Topper'' and James Hilton's ''Lost Horizon.'' Also included were Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey''; Agatha Christie's mystery story ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''; and ''Shakespeare's Five Great Tragedies.'' In its first year, Pocket Books sold a total of six million copies, most notably at outlets where magazines were sold. In the summer of 1939, the British paperback pioneer Penguin Books began selling its line in the United States. (See page 25.)